Swifted : Nelliyampathy via Valparai

This is a discussion on Swifted : Nelliyampathy via Valparai within Travelogues, part of the Buckle Up category; I'm going to Nelliyampathy this weekend and this is where I should have looked for first hand info. I would ...

I'm going to Nelliyampathy this weekend and this is where I should have looked for first hand info. I would keep an eye for the fireflies. I had talked to Joe at the same resort that you stayed on Monday and I see this thread today. I could have saved a weeks background searching on the web if I remembered to look up travelogues section, took me a good part of a couple of hours to savour through the photos from a enthusiastic ornithologist I should say well worth the time.

Lalu_ks wonderful presentation skills and narration.Your words speak as well as your pictures.

I'm going to Nelliyampathy this weekend and this is where I should have looked for first hand info. I would keep an eye for the fireflies. I had talked to Joe at the same resort that you stayed on Monday and I see this thread today. I could have saved a weeks background searching on the web if I remembered to look up travelogues section, took me a good part of a couple of hours to savour through the photos from a enthusiastic ornithologist I should say well worth the time.

Lalu_ks wonderful presentation skills and narration.Your words speak as well as your pictures.

Thank you marlinspike for the kind words.
Please convey our regards to Joe. Hope he still remembers us.
Please try also to goto maampara. It is a nice little core 4x4 drive up there.

Good idea, though we have to wait a bit for some trees to get stronger

Let me be speculative here..

I can imagine Lalu sitting in a Tree House on a Mango Tree and thinking whether he should cut the mango prior to eating it or eat it full as it is

Sr PPG and Jr PPG complaining to thier mother that their father is not coming down the mango tree house. Now Mother is also worried.

Then they tell him that they can drive to Ratangiri in Maharastra and bring some authentic Aapus Mangos, then Lalu readily comes down the tree and gets into the car. Long Drives and Mangos a combination which is hard to resist for Lalu.

This is an original storyline written by me. If it sounds similar to some advt which is currently running on the TV channels, it is simply co-incidental.

I can imagine Lalu sitting in a Tree House on a Mango Tree and thinking whether he should cut the mango prior to eating it or eat it full as it is

Sr PPG and Jr PPG complaining to thier mother that their father is not coming down the mango tree house. Now Mother is also worried.

Then they tell him that they can drive to Ratangiri in Maharastra and bring some authentic Aapus Mangos, then Lalu readily comes down the tree and gets into the car. Long Drives and Mangos a combination which is hard to resist for Lalu.

This is an original storyline written by me. If it sounds similar to some advt which is currently running on the TV channels, it is simply co-incidental.

Thanks to Laluks and PearlJam about info around the Parambikulam/Valparai sections which helped me to do a trip over the past weekend. A short post on the situation of June 6, 2010. Initially had thought of going to Valparai-Chalakudi-Chimmini Dam - Peechi Dam and back to Coimbatore. However, my father had an other appointment for Sunday and me, wifey, daughter and amma planned to take the shorter trip to Parambikulam. Started at around 6 am and reached home back in Coimbatore at around 3:30 PM.

So CBE-Pollachi-Sethumadai. TN Checkpost - 15 per head, car 15, camera 25. Total - Rs 100. 12 km to TopSlip. Nice cool place. A European kind of green hill was seen here, at the top of which was a beautiful bungalow. There were other TN govt cottages and the works there too. Contd...

Thanks to Laluks and PearlJam about info around the Parambikulam/Valparai sections which helped me to do a trip over the past weekend. A short post on the situation of June 6, 2010. Initially had thought of going to Valparai-Chalakudi-Chimmini Dam - Peechi Dam and back to Coimbatore. However, my father had an other appointment for Sunday and me, wifey, daughter and amma planned to take the shorter trip to Parambikulam. Started at around 6 am and reached home back in Coimbatore at around 3:30 PM.

So CBE-Pollachi-Sethumadai. TN Checkpost - 15 per head, car 15, camera 25. Total - Rs 100. 12 km to TopSlip. Nice cool place. A European kind of green hill was seen here, at the top of which was a beautiful bungalow. There were other TN govt cottages and the works there too. Contd...

Waiting for your log and pictures

I also wanted to do Chimmini Dam, Peechi Dam but the weather was so hot and further for many reasons we stayed put at Nelliyampathy. Did you gather any information on the road situatins to these places?

Top Slip and parambikulam is in my radar. Hope one day to do that trip.

There were 2 huts close by. 1 of TN and next to it the KL one. There was one officer sitting in there, 3 mallus with a KA car entered in there as well and then a group of 6 from CBE. So we were 13 and were ready to go on a 14 seater van on a 3 hr Parambikulam safari.

The KL forest guard gave us glossy colored boarding passes with the iternary for the day and an old govt styled white paper which mentioned name, address, car-make, amount paid etc... We drove the car from this pt (which is TopSlip in TN) and the guard opened up the iron bar to let us go further. Drove for 2 km and hit the Kerala check post where I entered a old-govt-style checkpost room and the officer looked at the tickets and said ok. I did not know why that was needed. Anyway... Again the bar was opened and we drove a little further, found a security guard who asked us to park our vehichle and walk say 300 m or so where we could see many more people and cottages, reception area, toilet area, eco-shop, hay-umbrella resting area, well maintained and looked say a couple of years old (max) and a couple of vans. Reception area had pamphlets mentioning the history etc...

The trip started at 9:45 am and ended at 12:45 am. Peacocks, Spotted deer, Langoors and we were lucky to see 4 wild elephants, thunnakadavu dam, parambikulam dam, valley view, dam view, Kannimara teak (oldest in...) big girth. It was good. On the way we could see huts on poles along side the lake. Rs. 4000 for 2 for a day. Also saw a few private vehichles - heard that those who book stay at the reserve can drive through. However there would be a guard with you always - to restrict things you are not supposed to do. In one way its good, the forest is saved. All in all a good outing!

Road conditions - From Sethumadai to TopSlip (12 km) - a few hair pins - did not count (should have) - but it looked terribly unattended to. A few tar patches here and there - I would say not good. From there on just a few km till the Kerala check post and till parking.